Cytokines, such as interleukin-1 (IL-1) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF), are molecules produced by a variety of cells, such as monocytes and macrophages, that are mediators of inflammatory processes. Interleukin-1 is a cytokine with a wide range of biological and physiological effects, including fever, prostaglandin synthesis (e.g., fibroblasts, muscle cells and endothelial cells), T-lymphocyte activation, and interleukin-2 production.
Both IL-1α and IL-1β are produced by macrophages, monocytes and dendritic cells. They form an important part of the inflammatory response of the body against infection. These cytokines increase the expression of adhesion factors on endothelial cells to enable transmigration of leukocytes, the cells that fight pathogens, to sites of infection and re-set the hypothalamus thermoregulatory center, leading to an increased body temperature which expresses itself as fever. IL-1 is therefore called an endogenous pyrogen. The increased body temperature helps the body's immune system to fight infection. IL-1 is also important in the regulation of hematopoiesis. IL-1β production in peripheral tissue has also been associated with hyperalgesia (increased sensitivity to pain) associated with fever (Morgan et al., Brain Res., 1022 (1-2): 96-100 (2004)). For the most part, these two forms of IL-1 bind to the same cellular receptor. This receptor is composed of two related, but non-identical, subunits that transmit intracellular signals via a pathway that is mostly shared with certain other receptors. These include the Toll family of innate immune receptors and the receptor for IL-18. IL-1α and IL-1β also possess similar biological properties, including induction of fever, slow wave sleep, and neutrophilia, T- and B-lymphocyte activation, fibroblast proliferation, cytotoxicity for certain cells, induction of collagenases, synthesis of hepatic acute phase proteins, and increased production of colony stimulating factors and collagen.
cDNAs encoding the two distinct forms of IL-1 have been isolated and expressed; these cDNAs represent two different gene products, termed IL-1β (Auron et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 81: 7907-7911 (1984)) and IL-1α (Lomedico et al., Nature, 312: 458-462 (1984)). IL-1β is the predominant form produced by human monocytes both at the mRNA and protein levels. The two forms of human IL-1 share only 26% amino acid homology. Despite their distinct polypeptide sequences, the two forms of IL-1 have structural similarities (Auron et al., J. Mol. Cell. Immunol., 2: 169-177 (1985)), in that the amino acid homology is confined to discrete regions of the IL-1 molecule.
IL-1α and IL-1β are produced as precursor peptides. In other words they are made as a long protein that is then processed to release a shorter, active molecule, which is called the mature protein. Mature IL-1β, for example, is released from Pro-IL-1β following cleavage by a certain member of the caspase family of proteins, called caspase-1 or the interleukin-1 converting enzyme (ICE). The 3-dimensional structure of the mature forms of each member of the human IL-1 superfamily is composed of 12-14 β-strands producing a barrel-shaped protein.
Although a variety of antibodies to IL-1 have been described in the nearly two decades of work since the discovery of this critical proinflammatory cytokine, there remains a need for improved binding proteins that can effectively mediate or neutralize the activity of IL-1 in the inflammatory response and autoimmune disorders and for use in detecting IL-1β in samples and tissues.